Sweetie

1989

Action / Comedy / Drama

4
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 74% · 20 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 74% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.7/10 10 5817 5.8K

sibling relationship tree house dysfunctional family woman director favorite sibling

Plot summary

The buttoned-down, superstitious Kay is attempting to lead a normal existence with her new boyfriend Louis. That’s until Sweetie, her rampaging, devil-may-care sister, returns home after an absence, exposing the rotten roots of their family and placing a strain on Kay and Louis’ relationship.

Director

Jane Campion Photo
Jane Campion

Top cast

Andrew Traucki Photo
Andrew Traucki as Jackaroo
Michael Lake Photo
Michael Lake as Bob
Paul Livingston Photo
Paul Livingston as Teddy Schneller
Geneviève Lemon Photo
Geneviève Lemon as Dawn 'Sweetie'
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
917.55 MB
1280*682
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 39 min
Seeds 1
1.84 GB
1920*1024
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 39 min
Seeds 6

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by peter-209

quirky psychoanalysis of two sisters

Quite a dark film that seems to lack the catharsis (or uplifting tones) of the later Campion's films. The film concentrates on psychological problems of Kay, strange, detached young women which, seemingly calm and shy, is able to shamelessly steal a just-engaged man from his fiancee. Kay's life with the boyfriend, however, turns out to be far from happy. What does she want? We do not know that until her younger sister Dawn, aka Sweetie, appears on the scene almost halfway through the film. Dawn has apparently been a spoiled baby in the family. The father even now speaks about her "talents", although he too must see that, in reality, she is a mentally handicapped person whose intellectual and emotional development has been arrested at the level of a 4-year old. Sometimes she is charming, sometimes threatening, but, most importantly, she is uninhibited and free (among other things, free to act on her whims). With the arrival of Dawn, Kay's great animosity towards her sister is immediately apparent. Instead of help and compassion of a "normal" older sister she only offers criticism and open hatred. Little by little we find what Kay wants: she wants to be Dawn. She wants to lose her repressions, she wants to be loved, admired and always forgiven, no matter what she does. Deep psychological analysis of abnormal relations between sisters reminds me of some Ingmar Bergman's works although "Sweetie" does not have the nordic broodiness.
Reviewed by crculver 7 / 10

Jane Campion's first theatrical feature explores a dysfunctional family

When it starts off with the eccentric and shy Kay (Karen Colston) falling in love with the handsome Louis (Tom Lycos), Jane Campion's 1988 film SWEETIE promises a romantic comedy. When Kay's mentally ill sister Dawn (Genevieve Lemon) drops in, the film develops in a very different direction. Some element of comedy, very black humour, remains but overall the film is a family tragedy.The tragedy is that this disturbed young woman nicknamed "Sweetie" is simultaneously a victim of her own illness and an unwilling aggressor against her family, who feign love and acceptance but clearly would like to do without her. The strongest aspect of the film is Lemon's performance, one of the best screen portrayals of mental illness since Bergman's IN A GLASS DARKLY. Something I appreciate more on repeat viewing is that the background to this family drama is left ambiguous. That said, I would not list "Sweetie" among my favourite films: it is overall well-made and memorable but not quite at the level of effusive praise.
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